Naruto: Influence of the Fox
by k0nceptive
Summary: Naruto is a weak, helpless child. But when the nine-tailed fox intervenes, how will it all change? PowerNaruto NaruXHina Rated T for now. Perhaps NaruxHarem in the future
1. Chapter 1

Influence of the Fox

Ch.1 Prologue

The streets of Kohona were quiet as they usually were at this time of night, much to the relief of a blond seven year old who walked alone in the rain. He knew he should be getting back to his apartment because the next day he began his training at the ninja academy of the village of Kohona, the village hidden in the leaves.

'_Maybe everyone will start to respect me if I become a ninja'_ he thought, wishfully, to himself although he knew it probably wouldn't happen. His entire life he had been looked down on for a reason that he didn't know of. Every time he went out in public he would be talked about and scorned, if he was lucky. But it was usually much worse. Extremely unjust prices to daily beatings by drunken villagers.

Though every time he would be beaten he would receive the same 'demon brat' 'hell child' 'evil fox' yells until a seemingly random ANBU would stop the beatings and take him home. But over the years he had noticed that the shinobi that always rescued him was the only shinobi that even acknowledged him.

He had a set of spiky grey hair and had a tall, slim muscled body and a dog ANBU mask. _'It always seemed that this ninja was different from all the others'_ Naruto thought to himself, why simultaneously wondering why this man cared when no-one else did.

Soon the blonde found his way to his old rundown apartment where he had lived alone since it was given to him by the third hokage, who was the closest thing to family he had ever had. He had also caught sight of a stocky white haired man staring at him in the village. It wasn't the hateful glares he was used to but something of a deep, thoughtful look, as if he was thinking of someone else. _'Something about that guy is strange'_ the spikey blond said as he pictured him in his mind. Red marks running from his eyes, always carrying a large scroll with him. He could have sworn he had seen him talking to frogs.

Everything is his mind was spinning in an endless vortex as he thought of tomorrow. He would finally be on his way to becoming hokage, his life dream.

And he drifted into a light, dream filled sleep.

* * *

When Naruto awoke he immediately took a shower and dressed in his usual attire. An obnoxiously bright orange jumpsuit with blue trim and a white collar. He then ate breakfast, an instant ramen cup, and had set out towards the academy. He had woken up abnormally early that day and set out early enough to miss the crowds and coincidently arrive at the academy before anyone else.

He decided to sit at on the top row, last seat to the right. '_No one will sit by me anyway, they never do when I go to Ichirakus.' _He thought. The old man and his daughter that ran the shop were the only people to ever do business with him normally. Everyone else would throw him out or charge him unreasonably high prices.

He was there for about an hour when the chunin teacher finally arrived. He had a Spike of hair coming out of the top of his head. His skin was dark and he had deep brown eyes. His only other distinguishing feature was a scar that ran over the bridge of his nose.

"Who are you? Oh you must be one of the new students!" he stated when he finally caught sight of the young blond."My name is Iruka Umino, but you will refer to me as Iruka-sensei,"

"Hai Iruka-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly, glad that the man hadn't yelled at him.

* * *

Slowly but surely more students began to arrive. First was a boy in a high collared trench coat, then a boy with a small puppy. They were followed by a Boy with spiky black hair in a blue collared shirt. Naruto knew who he was, Sasuke Uchiha, the last remaining of his clan after his older brother apparently went berserk and killed everyone. It wasn't suprising when he was followed in by a horde of seemingly rabid fan girls either, including a girl with long blond hair and another with equally long pink hair, who seemed to be yelling at each other.

The next was a lazy boy whose black hair made him resemble a pineapple. He was followed by an extremely pudgy boy with a bag of chips.

The last person to come to the class was a girl with pale lavender eyes. She had short, extremely dark blue hair with two long bangs running down her face. She also had pale, almost milky, skin.

'_Wow she's pretty' _Naruto thought to himself.

He was even more surprised when she sat next to him, but when they made eye contact she blushed and looked away and Naruto couldn't shake feeling they had met before.

_(Flashback)_

_Naruto was causally walking down the road to the training area when he heard yelling from behind one of the bushes. When he went to check what it was he was surprised to see a girl laying on the ground with a group of people standing over her._

_ "Look at her freaky eyes!" one said as he kicked her in the stomach._

_ "Yeah shes weird!" another said, following his example._

_ "Shes probably after Sasuke-kun too!" one of the two girls in the group said._

_ 'Is that ALL they think about?' Naruto thought to himself._

_ "No..im not…p-p-please stop." The girl almost whispered as she tried to stand up. "Not a chance Hyuuga!" the biggest of the boys, obviously the leader of the group yelled as he forced her back down._

_ Naruto had had enough and he jumped onto the boys back and hit him in the head with a rock. The size difference was just too great as he was thrown off. He now noticed that the older boy was wearing a forehead protector with a leaf symbol on it. _

_ 'A ninja?' Naruto thought to himself._

_ "Oh crap! It's the demon! Run for it." He yelled. Naruto was finally happy for his apparent 'Demon status' in the village. He immediately ran over to the girl and leaned down help her up. She took his hand and he pulled her up. Luckily she wasn't too badly hurt, mostly just bruises. _

_ "T-t-t-thank you for helping me." The girl said, unable to look him in the face._

_ "It's no problem! My names Uzumaki Naruto! Whats yours? He fired off, excited to possibly to have a chance to make his first friend._

_ "H-h-h-h-hinata….H-hyuuga Hinata." She stuttered out, her shyness kicking in._

_ (Flashback end)_

Suddenly Naruto remembered where he had met the girl and turned to face her.

"You're the girl from the park that day aren't you?" he asked her as she suddenly got very wide-eyed.

_'He remembered!" _she thought happily to herself, but all she could stutter out was a weak "H-H-H-Hai." As she looked to her secret crush.

**NARUTOS MINDSCAPE**

"**So she like the brat hmmmm? Intresting… It would seem Naruto has found his first pack-mate." **Said a booming, menacing voice as a pair of huge bright-red slit eyes stared on from behind a giant cage.

"**Good"**

**PROLOUGE END. **

* * *

**Authors notes. **

**Just a quick a/n, this will hopefully follow a mostly original story line and I plan for it to be an EXTREMELY long story. If anyones noticed the other story on my page that ive hit writers block on for like 8 months now, don't worry, I have this story more thought out while I was basically freehanding that one.**


	2. Chapter 2: Graduation

**Chapter One: Graduation.**

**Four Years Later**

The day had finally arrived, the day of the academy graduation exam. Naruto was confident in himself, as he had been masking his true talent from everyone in the room. Except of course his best, and only, friend Hinata Hyuuga. He had tried to make more friends but he was shunned by everyone but her. Shikamaru, aka pineapple head, was the closest he had to another, but he always thought everything was to 'troublesome'.

He had even gone to the extent of trying to befriend the Uchiha, but that had a very bad outcome. It started with an 'hmph' and ended how he was "The last Uchiha and was above the need for friend ship, that all he needed was power." Naruto quickly let that go as names were being called for the exam.

"First up! Choji Akamichi" Iruka stated and led the boy into the next room. Several minutes later he emerged with a victorious smile and a forehead protector in hand. And this pattern continued for a while as names continued to be called. Shikamaru, Ino, Sakura, and The annoying duck had all been called and passed when a multitude of others failed. As yet another failure stepped out of the office the next name was called.

"Hyuuga Hinata." Iruka stated from behind the door.

Hinata was practically shaking from nervousness until Naruto grabbed her arm and said "You can do it Hinata!" with his spirit lifting smile in tow. Minutes later she walked out with a small smile and a forehead protector tied around her neck. On went the process of passing and failing until it was finally the young blondes turn.

* * *

"Alright Naruto you will need to perform a bushin, substitution, and henge to pass, as well as an extra ninjutsu or genjutsu of your choice." Iruka stated, secretly hoping his most annoying student had finally been able to get the clone jutsu, completely unknowing just how much Naruto had grown over the years.

Naruto decided to start with the easiest and turned himself into a picture-perfect replica of the silver-haired ANBU that had continued to watch over him over his years in the academy.

'_He henged into an ANBU? Wait doesn't that mask belong to Kakashi Hatake? He retired from that organization years ago.' _The chunin thought to himself, while putting a small check next to henge on the list. But as he looked up he was suddenly standing in the middle of the room. _'He got the substitution too. Maybe he will graduate.'_

Then was the moment that Naruto had been secretly awaiting was finally there. _'I've been throwing this test for years'_ and with that he made the hand signals and made four perfect replicas of himself.

"Alright Naruto, preform any ninjutsu or genjutsu and you will officially graduate1" Iruka stated, slightly excited that his (secretly) favorite student had been able to create more than the minimum of three clones.

"Alright, here it goes, can you get away from the desk Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked. Iruka stepped away from the table as Naruto formed a tiger seal and a single small orb about the size of his fist formed and began to rotate around him. "Shakuton: Kajōsatsu." Naruto stated with a smile, and the small sun-like orb flew towards the desk and incinerated it. Iruka opened his mouth but nothing came out. _'Shakuton? Scorch Release?'_ he thought dumbly. He had only heard of one person ever able to do that, but she was dead. _'Lord Hokage needs to know about this.' _

* * *

In the classroom everyone was wondering what was taking them so long.

"_Dobe probably hurt himself.' _Sasuke imagined.

"_Maybe the baka finally decided to quit'_ was the thought going through a certain pink banshees head.

'_Troublesome'_ was all Shikamaru could think.

'_I hope Naruto-kun did alright.'_ Thought a certain Hyuuga heiress.

Suddenly the door flew open and Iruka drug Naruto out of the room, leaving every student wide-eyed, and made his way to the Hokages office. Naruto had some explaining to do.

* * *

…

'_What a peaceful day._' Thought Hiruzen Sarutobi, the third Hokage, just mere seconds before his office door flew open and an extremely anxious Iruka dragged in an extremely nervous Naruto.

"What is it this time?" the old man asked in a stern voice, though he was fonder of the boy than Iruka was.

"Alright Naruto, show him what you did in the graduation exam." The chunin started. As Naruto repeater the jutsu and demolished a small fake plant in the room the hokages eyes grew to the size of baseballs. "W-w-where exactly did you learn to do that" the old man stuttered out.

"Well that's a long story." Naruto said.

* * *

(Flashback)

2 years prior.

'_This is getting nowhere! I'll never be able to learn a ninjutsu like this!" Naruto thought angrily to himself. He had been trying to do a wind style jutsu all day, but it just wasn't working. He had found a piece of chakra paper earlier that week and found out his affinity was wind._

_**Mindscape**_

'_**So, the kit has a wind affinity does he? Maybe I should help him stand out a little. But what happens when you mix fire and wind? This will be interesting.' The giant fox mused while pouring his own chakra into that of his host, effectively mixing his own fire affinity with his jailors wind affinity, effectively giving a new start to a thought-extinct Kekkei Genkai. **_

_REAL WORLD_

"_Why can't I do one simple wind bomb?" he said to himself, almost seething with rage. Suddenly a small, put frighteningly powerful voice sounded in the back of the young boys mind._

"_**Do a tiger seal instead and try again." The voice boomed.**_

_Naruto complied and was shocked when a small round ball appeared in front of him. "What is that?" he asked, slightly afraid of the voice._

"_**It is called the Shakuton, the Scorch Release, it is your new bloodline."**_

"_Who are you?" he asked himself._

"_**You will find that out soon enough." The voice replied, though fading away**__._

_A confused and exhausted Naruto fell in to the grass where he remained for the rest of the night._

_(_Flashback end)

* * *

"So that's how it happened!" Naruto stated, wrapping up his explanation of his newfound abilities.

'_The Kyuubi-no-Kitsune helped him?'_ thought both Iruka and Hiruzen at the same time. Iruka then looked over to the elder hokage with an obviously blatant statement ready. "It's time for him to know."

"Yes, I believe you're right." The older man said, and, turning to Naruto, said "I'm sure you have noticed the strange treatment you've been receiving around the village?" as Naruto just nodded to himself while looking at his feet. "Well, as you know, on October 10th twelve years ago, the nine tailed fox attacked our village, tell me all you know about it."

"Uh okay? Well I know that the fox attacked the village until it was driven out and killed by the fourth Hokage. And that he died in the fight too." The young blond said, unsure as to where he was going with this.

"Well, that is partially true, but the kyuubi could not be killed, but instead had to be sealed within a host, or a jinchuriki if you will. But that wasn't all. The host had to be a newborn child or their chakra coils wouldn't be able to handle that much foreign chakra, so before I go any further, what else happened on October 10th, 12 years ago?" The elderly man explained.

"Hmmm, well twelve years ago was…" Naruto started just before the truth of the statement hit him. "You mean… they were right? I am a demon?" he said with tears in his eyes.

"NO!" Iruka yelled, slightly harsher than he had intended to. "No Naruto, you're not. The fox is a demon, not you. You're just the jailor for the beast. In a way, you are a hero."

"Yea… I guess your right!" Naruto said, remembering that not only was he keeping someone safe, but he was also being helped by the fox, as it had repeatedly helped him in his training. "So, will I be able to use any of its power?" he asked, slightly excited yet nervous at the prospect of being able to use the abilities of the most powerful demon in existence.

"There is no way to be sure, but every other jinchuriki has been able to, so it's a probability." Said the older of the two men.

"Okay, that's good enough. Well I guess I should get home now." The blonde said after calming down.

"Yes, you're dismissed Naruto, but Iruka you should stay, we need to put together the new genin teams." Hiruzen stated.

As Naruto began to leave he heard Iruka shout from behind him "Don't forget to be at the academy at 8 a.m. tomorrow to get assigned Naruto!" _'YES I PASSED!'_ Naruto thought, almost jumping with excitement as he sprinted out the door and down the road to his apartment.

* * *

"Okay Iruka what do you suggest for the teams?" the Third asked, deciding that it was late and he wanted to hurry through this.

"Well first off we should keep the Ino-Shika-Cho formation in the teams, I suggest under Asuma." Iruka began. "And then I believe we should have Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Hanuro, and Naruto Uzumaki on another team."

"Wait, there is no tracker on that team. It won't work." The Hokage reminded him.

"Yes I guess that's true. Well in that case I believe we should replace Hanuro with Hinata Hyuuga." Iruka continued.

"Hmm? Why her? Why not the Inuzuka?" the older man asked.

"Well that's simple, Hinata and Naruto work well together, while the prospect of having three bloodline traits on one team could cause them to excel." Iruka stated.

"Ah, you make a good point, I'll keep that in mind, but why not someone the Uchiha works well with?" the Hokage had to question.

"Another simple one! He doesn't work well with anyone." Iruka said.

"Alright, you're dismissed. I'll see you tomorrow." The Hokage continued.

* * *

Naruto was happily walking down the road, completely ignoring the hateful glares being sent to him. They didn't bother him as much now that he knew why they were, and he couldn't really blame them. When he arrived at the academy he saw that he was one of the first there, only Iruka and Hinata had beaten him.

"Hey Hinata!" Naruto shouted from across the grounds.

"Hello Naruto." She said back, still slightly shy but had lost her stutter. "You never said if you passed yesterday."

"Oh yea that reminds me." Iruka said as he slipped inside, and after a couple of minutes he returned holding a forehead protector and handed it to Naruto. The young blonde took it and wrapped it proudly around his forehead. He sat beside his best friend on the bench and had a small conversation as the others who passed gradually showed up. So far the most notable of the fresh genin were Naruto, Hinata, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, Ino Yaminaka, Choji Akamichi, Shikamaru Nara, Sakura Hanuro and Sasuke Uchiha.

* * *

"Alright!" Iruka shouted to get their attention and went to continue. "I will now name the teams and your sensei, beginning with team one…team two…

three…

four…

five…

six…

Alright team seven is Naruto Uzumaki," '_Finally my turn!_' "Hinata Hyuuga," '_Yes! I get to be with Naruto-kun!'_ "And Sasuke Uchiha!" _'Why do I have to be with those weaklings?_ _Oh well, at least SHE isn't a fan girl.' _"Your sensei will be Kakashi Hatake."

As he continued down the list Sakura got paired with Kiba and Shino under Kurenai Yuhi, and the Ino-Shika-Cho formation was kept alive under Asuma Sarutobi.

"Alright you are to wait here until you are met by your sensei. Good-luck.´ Iruka said just before leaving.

* * *

One by one the teams were called out until team seven was the only one left. Naruto and Hinata were carrying on a small conversation will the Uchiha sat brooding as always. Finally a small dog jumped in through the window, sat in the middle of the room and said simply "Meet Kakashi on the roof in 5 minutes." And then suddenly disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

The three fresh genin stood shocked for a moment before getting up and sprinting out of the room to get to the roof.

* * *

**Chapter End**

**Authors notes:**

**Wow, the first chapter is out for less than two days and its already doing better than my other story? Well then. **

**Also I would like to thank KushinaHyugaUzumaki for the Shakuton idea.**

**So yea, that wraps this up… hopefully the next chapter will be out before the end of the week. **


	3. Chapter 3: The Final Test

**Chapter 2: Survival Test, An Unexpected Start.**

Three fresh genin rushed out of the front door of the academy and leapt on to the roof to meet their new sensei. Once there they realized something…He was nowhere to be found.

"GAH! He's late again!" Naruto yelled from the rooftop.

"M-m-maybe me misheard him?" Hinata stuttered out, trying desperately not to feel like a failure.

"Whatever…I don't see the point of being on a team and not with someone who could actually help me gain power. Unlike you two weaklings." Sasukes jab at Naruto and Hinata did not go unnoticed as suddenly someone had the arrogant Uchiha on the ground. "Get off me dobe!"

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked from across the platform, trying to console Hinata, who was obviously hurt by the unnecessary remark. Slightly unnerved, Sasuke looked up to see that the person who held him down was a man in his thirties. He had grey, spiked hair and a mask covering his face, as well as his leaf forehead protector over his left eye.

"Alright you, SIT DOWN AND DON'T SAY ANYTHING UNLESS SPOKEN TO!" he said in a loud, angry voice, bordering a yell.

'_What's his problem?_' Sasuke thought to himself.

"_I can't believe someone would say something like that." _The man thought to himself, remembering the last time he heard something like that.

* * *

(Flashback)

_"You're weak Obito! You always were and you always will be! Why did I have to be put on a team with you?" A younger version of the man said, just before storming away._

_ 'If you won't help save Rin, I'll just have to do it myself!' thought a man with short brown hair in a blue and orange jumpsuit. 'Whatever it takes'_

_(_Flashback end)

* * *

"Alright, I think it's time for introductions." He said, obviously extremely down for some reason.

"Ano…S-s-s-sensei? Why don't you go first so we can see how it goes?" Hinata stuttered in a bare whisper.

"Yea that makes sense okay. My name is Kakashi Hatake, I don't have any particular dislikes…I do like to read…but only certain types of books" he said with his mask hiding a small blush." My hobbies? You don't need to know that. My dreams for the future? Ive never really thought about that before."

"B-B-B-BUT YOU DIDN'T ACUALLY TELL US ANYTHING!" Naruto yelled.

"Alright then blonde, show me how it's done."

"Okay, my name is Naruto Uzumaki, I like ramen, pranks and spending time with my friend Hinata! I dislike people who think too highly of themselves." He said, backing up the last part with a glare towards a certain Uchiha. "And people who judge others without knowing themselves. My hobbies are training and watching birds and my dream is to be the best hokage this village has ever seen!"

'_He has the attitude of his mother and the looks of his father? That is sure to be an interesting combination'_ Kakashi thought to himself. "Alright girlie, you next.'

"Ano… My name is Hinata H-h-h-Hyuuga, I like pressing flowers and spending time with Naruto-kun. I dislike people who are unnecessarily cruel to others. My dream is to become a kunoichi that I can be proud of and to get my c-c-crush to n-n-notice me." She said, completely without stuttering until talking about Naruto.

'_Is he really that dimwitted?_' he thought looking toward Naruto." Alright _**prince**_ Uchiha. You're turn."

"I don't like anything. I dislike a lot of things. I don't have hobbies and I don't have a dream…it's more of an ambition. I want to get stronger so I can kill a certain person. Good enough?" he said without taking a breath.

"For now. Any way now that that's over be at training ground seven tomorrow morning at eight a.m. Oh yea, and don't eat breakfast, you may puke! Well bye." That was all he said before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

"What was that about?" Naruto asked. Though the question was pointed more to Hinata than Sasuke.

"I think it's a trick." Sasuke stated under his breath.

"W-W-W-Why do you say that?" Hinata asked.

"He is probably going to test our teamwork…just think, they already tested us individually. What else could happen?"

"You're probably right Teme." Naruto said deep in thought.

"Okay. Well it's getting late so we should rest up for tomorrow." Naruto said, obviously exhausted.

* * *

_ 'Well I was told that I had a team with three unique bloodline traits. Well there's the Sharingan and the Byakugan users, but what about Naruto? Has he already unlocked the Namikaze dojutsu? I thought that didn't happen until at least thirteen?"_ Kakashi thought while lying in bed staring at the celling. _'I hope this is the team that finally passes'_ and with that he glanced over to a photo of three genin and an older blond man that looks surprisingly like Naruto, but with longer hair and lacking whisker marks. _'Minato-sensei…"_

* * *

Naruto awoke at seven A.M. to shower before the days training session. He then dressed in the clothes he had purchased for the occasion. A black, skintight shirt with a fishnet undershirt, a black jacket with orange stripes running vertically up the arms, and orange pants with black horizontal stripes running down the legs like a tiger. He then set off from his apartment in the direction of the Hyuuga complex because he had promised to walk with Hinata to the training ground.

* * *

When he arrived he found Hinata standing outside her house with a shy smile on her face. She was also in her new training outfit. She had abandoned her huge beige jacket for a slimmer, light purple one, a white under shirt and black pants that came down just below the knee.

"Hey Hinata-chan! You ready to go?" Naruto said, effectively startling the girl.

"H-hai Naruto-kun." She replied and they started off to training ground seven to meet Kakashi. When they arrived they found Sasuke already there, brooding. But Kakashi was nowhere to be found.

"Maybe he got lost?" Naruto said after they had been waiting for almost 2 hours.

"I don't think a jonin would get lost idiot." Sasuke replied with a sneer.

Hinata just sat quietly, hoping that a fight didn't start between the two. She then activated her Byakugan and looked around for her new sensei. Then she found him sitting by a large stone, deep in thought. "Uh N-naruto-kun?" She whispered, barely audible due to the raging argument of the other two.

"SHUT UP TEME! Oh Hinata did you need something?" Naruto replied.

"I found K-kakashi-sensei." She said.

"Cool! Where is he?"

"About a h-h-hundred meters this way."

"Alright lets go get him!"

"WAIT!" Sasuke said in a loud voice.

"What?" Naruto replied.

"This is a teamwork test isn't it? We should sneak attack him."

"That's a great idea teme!" Naruto said excitedly as they hurried off to the stone.

"Alright, here's the plan."

* * *

Kakashi sat alone at the Konohagakure Memorial stone. He slowly ran his finger over three separate names. Minato Namikaze, Rin Inuzuka, and Obito Uchiha. Suddenly he heard the rustle of leaves and turned around in time to catch a kunai whizzing towards him. Then he was forced on the defensive as two boys engaged him. Naruto and Sasuke worked well together, even though they held obvious dislike for one another. Hinata was nowhere to be found.

They were forcing him back into the forest when suddenly Sasuke formed a series of hand signals which ended on tiger "**FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU!"** he shouted and released a fireball about twice the size of his body at their sensei. Kakashi jumped back almost directly into Hinata who was hidden in the tree line. He was pushed on the defensive again as she engaged him with Jyuuken. He was having no problem dodging their strikes, but he could get an opening to hit back.

Suddenly Hinata disengaged and he had to quickly avoid another fireball. As soon as he turned around he saw something he never expected to. Naruto stood in a small clearing with what looked like three small suns floating around him. "**SHAKUTON: Kajōsatsu!" **he shouted as all three of the suns flew towards Kakashi. He managed to dodge two of them but the third caught him and burned through his torso and he fell to the ground bleeding.

"Uh-oh." Naruto thought as he ran over to see if his sensei was alright. He was then joined by Hinata, but Sasuke just sat in a tree. As soon as they got to him though, he exploded into smoke and disappeared.

Then Naruto and Hinata heard light, slow clapping from behind them as turned to see an unharmed Kakashi approach from the forest. Sasuke joined them as they looked on to see what he would do. Suddenly he held out his arm and what looked like lightning erupted from the palm with the sound of what seemed like birds. **"RAIKIRI" **he said lightly as he looked to them. Naruto had a tiger seal held, as did Sasuke and Hinata had fallen into the gentle fist stance.

Kakashi then charged the three of them as they waited. Naruto fired another sun, Sasuke sent another fireball and Hinata prepared what seemed like a new style of Jyuuken attack. Kakashi cut threw all both jutsu and approached the ground, but before he got there the lightning faded, he stood straight and smiled with his eye and said "Congratulations…You all pass."

"But…we didn't beat you!" Naruto exclaimed, nervously.

"Beating me wasn't the point. I was testing how well you would work together, at which you did excellently, and I tested how you would be able to compose yourself in front of a vastly superior opponent, which you also did phenomenally at." He explained "So congratulations, we are now team seven."

"Alright! We passed!" Naruto said while jumping up and down.

"A...ano Naruto-kun?" Hinata said.

"Yea Hinata-chan?" he replied, turning to look her in the face.

"Y-y-y-your p-p-p-p-p-pants!" she said, her face strongly resembling a tomato.

Naruto looked down to see what she meant and saw that in his excitement his pants had gotten caught on a stray tree branch and were around his ankles.

"AH!" he yelled, quickly pulling them up and looking to see Kakashi rolling on the ground in laughter, Sasuke brooding as usual, and Hinata trying desperately trying not to faint.

"Shut up!"

**Chapter end.**

**A/N**

**Thanks to all the reviews, im glad that people are reading my story.**

**And if I ever go more than one week without updating, please flame the shit out of me over the PM system, it will get me back on task**.

**Next time: The first Mission!**


	4. Chapter 4: The First Mission

**Chapter 3:**

It had been one month since Narutos team graduated and they were running yet another D ranked mission.

"Does anyone have sights on the target?" Kakashi said over the com system.

"Not yet." Naruto replied.

"I t-think I found it." Hinata whispered.

"I see it too." Sasuke said.

"Ok, go on three. One…two…three!"

With that Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata all pounced on the small black figure as it dashed out of the bushes. They chased it into a small alleyway where Naruto was able to get to it, but he immediately regretted the decision as it sunk its claws into the blond genins face.

"I got it!" he shouted.

Being the best with animals, Hinata was immediately able to calm the angry cat down.

"_How does she do that? I thought that cat hates everyone."_ Kakashi thought as he watched the shy girl start to walk away with the cat. "Alright everyone, to the Hokage tower."

They set off to the tower without another word. As they walked Kakashi evaluated his teams' progress. _"Narutos ninjutsu is improving rapidly, but his dojutsu has yet to awaken and he is still very headstrong. Hinata is improving almost as quickly, but she still lacks confidence. Sasuke is the most talented of the group, though barely, and is coming out of his shell, but he hasn't completely lost his arrogance."_

As they arrived at the tower Naruto waltzed in and called "Hey Jiji! We're done!"

"Naruto! Show the hokage some respect." Iruka said from his seat.

"Its fine Iruka." Sarutobi chuckled.

"So, ready for another mission? Ok well there is pulling weeds, helping a lady clear an old house or walking dogs." Iruka said.

"COME ON! Give us a real mission! No more chores." Naruto said unenthusiastically.

"You're a fresh genin team, you're not ready for a C-rank yet." Iruka stated bluntly.

"Actually Iruka, I think my team is more than ready for a C." Kakashi said, without looking up from his book. "They have far exceeded my expectations."

"Well that's good enough for me, let's see if we can find a good C-Ranked mission."

"But Hokage-sama, you can't be serious!" Iruka exclaimed.

"Kakashi is one of our best jounin, you would be foolish to go against his judgment." The older man explained. "Aha, here it is. You will be escorting a bridge builder to the land of waves. Iruka, go get the client."

"Hai hokage-sama." Iruka said agitatedly. Minutes later he returned with a middle aged mand that smelled of cheap booze. He was talk and bulky, with grey hair and was wearing a straw hat.

"This is my protection? Three kids and a Cyclops?" the man asked indignantly.

The man quickly gauged the groups' reactions. The blond was practically seething, girl with the dark blue hair looked ashamed as she stared at the floor, and the raven haired boy just smirked. The tall Cyclops was the only one he couldn't gauged as he just stared ahead. _Hopefully Gato won't send any of his higher-ups, then I would be in trouble._

"Ok, we'll meet at the gate tomorrow morning. Dismissed." Kakashi said as he turned to leave. _He's hiding something._

"Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow then Hinata-chan!" Naruto said as he went for the door.

"O-OK Naruto-kun, see you tomorrow." The quiet girl replied with a small blush, extremely nervous about their first real mission. Naruto looked around for Sasuke but he was already gone, having left at the same time as Kakashi.

* * *

Naruto decided to get to the gate early, but was surprised when he wasn't the first person to the gate. As he approached he noticed the last person he expected to see._ Well, second to last._ Sitting on a log just outside the gate was Sasuke Uchiha.

"What are you doing here teme?" the blond asked.

"Couldn't sleep" the raven-haired boy muttered.

"Nervous?"

"Yea…maybe a little, but I was also thinking of the arrangement of the genin teams."

"You're not going to go into a 'weakling' rant are you?"

"No, im actually pretty happy with the arrangements."

"Oh?"

"Yea, you may be annoying, but you're defiantly not as annoying as Kiba or Choji and just thinking about getting stuck with a fan girl is scary enough to be thankful that the teams were put together this way."

Both boys unintentionally shuddered at the thought of being on a team with the blonde or pink banshees. Neither of them wanted that. The two just sat there for about an hour silently until Naruto finally spoke up.

"Hey do you think that someday we could be more than teammates?"

"You mean…wait! Are you gay?" Sasuke asked incredulously.

"WHAT? N-NO! I just meant that maybe we could be friends." Naruto exclaimed.

"Hmm…we'll see…Dobe" he smirked, but Naruto could have sworn for half a second there was a genuine smile on the normally stoic Uchihas face.

It was about half an hour later when the next of their group arrived.

"Hey Hinata-chan!" Naruto called out as she rounded the corner.

"Hello Naruto-kun" the shy Hyuuga heiress replied.

"Guess what! Sasuke-teme is getting soft!"

"Dobe…" Sasuke muttered.

It was still another hour, two hours after they were supposed to leave, before Kakashi showed up with Tazuna.

* * *

"Kakashi-sensei! You're late!" Naruto yelled as Sasuke threw the older man a glare and Hinata tried, but failed, to do the same. _Girl doesn't have a mean bone in her body does she?_ Kakashi thought as he noticed the poor attempt. "Anyway it's time we got going don't you think!" and the team set out along the road.

The team fell into a triangle formation. Naruto and Sasuke flanking Tazuna as Hinata took the rear as scout. Kakashi followed the group at a reasonable distance as he noticed a small puddle along the road. _Well that's odd._ He thought to himself. As they passed two ninja shot from the ground and wrapped a long chain around them.

All three genin grinned and Tazuna looked shocked as Kakashi was ripped to pieces before them. The two rouge-nin then turned to the rest of the group. "Just hand over the bridge builder and no one will get hurt." One of them said.

"Yea right!" Naruto responded as he took a kunai from his pouch. Sasuke fell into his taijutsu and Hinata took the Jyuuken stance.

"It's your funeral." One said as they charged the three. Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata charged forward and threw themselves into a taijutsu match. Naruto flung himself into one of them and they exchanged blows until Hinata attempted to disable him by closing the tenketsu in his knees. Sasuke was battling the other alone. Suddenly the man hit Sasuke with a vicious uppercut, throwing him into a tree and subsequently knocking him unconscious.

The duo then proved to be too much for Naruto and Hinata, quickly overpowering the both of them. Naruto soon found himself unable to move as the demon brothers circled the lone Hyuuga.

"Heh…. I wonder how much Kumo would pay for her eyes." One of the two said.

"Maybe we should just take her alive, then we'll get more" the other responded.

Suddenly a ball of lightning burst from his chest.

"W-w-what?" his brother said as he turned around to see the flaring Sharingan that was previously hidden under Kakashis hitai-ate.

"Y-y-y-you're" the rouge-nin stammered in fear, realizing his mistake.

"You are correct. You should have figured out the situation before you struck blindly" Kakashi responded in a deadly serious tone as he silenced the man with the raikiri.

Kakashi quickly disposed of the bodies so they wouldn't be discovered and picked up the unconscious Sasuke before the group set off again, though more tensely than before. They walked in silence until Hinata broke in.

"A-A-Ano…Sensei?" she asked shyly.

"Yes Hinata" he replied.

"Why was that man so afraid of you?"

"That's a story for another day." The Cyclops-nin replied in a tone that left no room for discussion. But as he said it he reached in his pouch, pulled out a small black book and tossed it to the young Hyuuga.

* * *

"Alright, we should set up camp here for the night." Kakashi stated after several hours of walking "We've almost reached the boarder."

Team seven went about setting up the camp, getting water and collecting firewood. Kakashi on the other hand had a few words for their charge.

"Kakashi. What can I do for you?" Tazuna asked.

"First you can tell me why you lied to the hokage." Kakashi said in a harsh tone.

"What do you mean?" Tazuna replied, feigning ignorance.

"C-Ranked missions are for protection from bandits and animals, not rouge ninja. This just became a high B, if not an A ranked mission. This team isn't ready for that." Kakashi said in a voice that border lined a yell.

"They handled themselves quite well." Tazuna said.

"They were absolutely man-handled!" Kakashi yelled, losing his temper.

"It turned out fine!" Tazuna struck back.

"Would it have if I didn't step in?"

"But you did!"

"What happened isn't the point! We're leaving tomorrow morning. You're on your own."

"B-B-But you can't! I already paid."

"That doesn't matter. This is a miss-classified mission and im calling it over."

"Wait… I'll tell you why I lied. My village is living under a tyrant named Gato. He steals from us. Almost everyone is in poverty except him. This bridge is our ticket to freedom. That is why he sent those ninja." The old bridge builder explained. "You have to help us. Konoha is our only chance to get out from under him."

"I'll have to talk to the team and see what they think." Kakashi replied after a moment, though reluctantly.

* * *

Naruto and Hinata sat by the fire with the small black book that Kakashi had given them. The first page was labeled Bingo Book.

"I wonder why he gave you this." Naruto thought aloud.

"I-I-I don't know Naruto-kun." Hinata replied as she began to flip through it. She soon stopped on a page with two familiar faces.

**Gozu **

**Chunin **

**B-Ranked threat**

**10,000 Ryo bounty**

**Meizu **

**Chunin **

**B-Ranked threat**

**10,000 Ryo bounty **

**Known Aliases: Demon Brothers**

"Wow! They were that dangerous?" Naruto said, more of to himself than anyone else. Hinata just continued turning until they ran upon an even more familiar picture.

**Kakashi Hatake**

**Jounin **

**S-Ranked Threat**

**1,000,000 Ryo Bounty **

**Known Aliases: Sharigan Kakashi, Copy-Nin Kakashi.**

"K-Kakashi-sensei is that strong?" Hinata said quietly, on the border of disbelief.

"What are you guys looking at?" Sasuke asked emerging from the bushes with fresh firewood.

"Just this bingo book." Naruto replied "Take a look."

Sasuke skimmed the page until his eyes fell on Kakashis alias of Sharingan Kakashi. _Why would he be called that?_ Sasuke thought. Suddenly the group heard a rustling in the bushes and snapped to attention, just to see their sensei walk out with Tazuna in tow.

"Yo!" Kakashi said nonchalantly. "We need to talk."

Kakashi quickly explained the situation to the three of them.

"So what should we do?" Kakashi asked.

"A-A-Ano…I think we should help them." Hinata stuttered staring at the ground.

"Yea! We should take Gato down!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly.

Sasuke remained stoic, though he couldn't help but agree with his teammates.

"Alright then! We'll help." Kakashi said. "Alright, get to sleep. We should get to wake tomorrow." And team seven retired to their tents.

* * *

The next day was largely uneventful until they had crossed the border.

"OVER THERE!" Naruto yelled as he threw a kunai into the bushes, only to hit a small white rabbit.

"Dobe…" Sasuke muttered.

_Something isn't right. That rabbit has its winter coat._ Kakashi thought. He also noticed the fog surrounding them getting excessively thicker.

"S-S-Sensei? What's going on?" Hinata said, her voice trembling in fright.

"Im not sure…activate your Byakugan and see if you can find anything."

Hinata activated her dojutsu and focused into the chakra-infused fog. Suddenly she saw an object spinning at the group.

"Get down!" she cried. Team seven dropped to the ground as a sword flew over their heads and embedded itself into a tree. Suddenly a tall, muscular man landed on the handle of the giant sword and raised his eyes to meet Kakashis.

"Zabuza Momochi…The Demon of the Hidden Mist…"

**A/N: **

**Actually don't have much to say, but I do have a poll open on my profile concerning the Harem part of this story. Im game if you guys want a harem, but it won't be more than four girls (If you think anyone that isn't on there would make a good candidate, PM me. Ill consider it.)**


	5. Chapter 5: The Demon in the Mist

**Chapter 4:**

"Zabuza Momochi….Demon of the Hidden Mist."

The name seemed to have an unnatural ring to it, as if the very nature of the surroundings feared what it brought. The man was over six and a half feet, with short brown hair and deep brown eyes. He was lean and muscular and carried a large sword with him. The genin could practically feel the killer intent rolling off of him.

"Kakashi Hatake? It seems I found the reason the demon brothers failed." He said in a deep, gruff voice.

"Alright you three protect the bridge builder. I'll handle him." Kakashi said to his team. The three nodded in response and took up a defensive position around Tazuna. Kakashi and Zabuza were soon locked in a fierce match of kunai versus cleaver with neither jonin able to gain the upper hand.

"It seems the Mizukage was right to put such a bounty on you. Not many can stand so long against one of the seven swordsmen." The man, Zabuza, said during a deadlock.

"Im guessing that's not why you're here is it?" Kakashi replied.

"Of course not. I can't go back to that village." The demon said in a rough tone.

Suddenly Kakashi came in with an unexpected kunai and drove it into Zabuzas chest. The so-called victory was cut short when he dissolved into water. Then he came out of nowhere and cut Kakashi in two. His victory was also short lived as Kakashi too turned into water.

"You're not the only one who can create a clone." Kakashi said.

"Maybe not, but can you do this?" Zabuza stated, his voice seeming to reflect around the mist, which seemed to be thickening. "Heart, Lungs, Kidneys, Coronary Artery, Jugular, Brain, Spine, Sub-Calavian Artery, which one would you like hit." He said in a dangerously low tone.

_This isn't good, alright Kakashi focus, where will he hit._ He thought to himself _Where where where? Oh no!_

Just then the figure of a man appeared between the genin and the bridge builder. Before he could strike Kakashi flew past and dug his kunai into the man's ribs, just for him to turn to water again before the mist dispersed. It revealed Zabuza to be standing on a small lake. Kakashi rushed out to meet him but soon found himself and his team in a very bad position. Before he realized his mistake he was surrounded by a sphere of water and try as he may, he couldn't break it.

"Shit! You three take the bridge builder and run!" he shouted from his watery prison. The genin however refused to budge, from fear or blind courage is unknown.

"We can't leave Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled as he sprinted towards the water. Just when Kakashi expected him to fall into the water he just continued to run. _ When did he learn to water walk? _Kakashi thought as the blond charged the brunette. As soon as Naruto got to Zabuza he was batted away like a fly.

"Is that the best you got brat?" Zabuza sneered.

"Hardly" Naruto replied as he charged again, but this time with ten more of him.

"Shadow clones? Impressive…but not enough." The demon of the mist stated as ten more of him also rose from the water. The raging battle of shadow versus water went on as the real Naruto was in the tree line thinking of how to get Kakashi out._ That's it!_ He though, reviewing his plan. Suddenly all ten Narutos poofed away leaving one standing in a tree with a single, finger sized ball of fire revolving around him. Suddenly the ball flew forward at Zabuza, who easily dodged it.

"Is that all you can do kid?" Zabuza said, thinking he had beaten the younger blond.

"Yea and it worked." Naruto stated matter of factly.

Zabuza turned to see the water prison dissolving and Kakashi facing him.

"What?" Zabuza questioned.

"Simple," Kakashi replied with a smirk "when you dodged the Shakuton, you didn't take into account that it was actually aimed at the water prison. It hit and dissolved the water."

"Sneaky brat." The demon huffed while glaring at the blond genin.

"It's time to end this." Kakashi said, pulling up his Hitai-ate to reveal his Sharingan.

_So that's why he has that alias._ Sasuke thought from the shore.

Suddenly Naruto returned to the shore, not wanting to get caught in the coming crossfire.

The rest of the fight was Zabuza throwing jutsu and Kakashi flawlessly coping them. The jutsu war came to a halt as the men just stared on. Then Kakashi flew into a long series of hand signs and called out "Great Whirlpool Jutsu!" and a huge spiral of water flew out slamming Zabuza into a tree._ How did he know? Can he see the future?_ Zabuza thought to himself, now slightly scared.

"Of course I can." Kakashi said, further frightening the demon of the mist. Suddenly a veil of lightning surrounded Kakashis hand. Just as quickly, two senbon needles flew out from a random and hit Zabuza in the neck and a small figure fell and landed over Zabuza.

"Thank you Konoha-san, I've been tracking this man for a long time." The mystery shinobi said in a small voice before taking the demon of the hidden mists body and disappearing just as quickly has it had appeared.

"K-K-Kakashi-sensei? Who was that?" Hinata stuttered, still trying to get over the previous battle.

"A hunter nin. Their job is to track down missing ninja and eliminate them." Kakashi answered before thinking to himself _but they usually destroy the body on sight, something isn't right here. We'll have to watch out…this isn't over._

Kakashi then promptly collapsed _Damn, I used the eye to much._ "Little help guys?" he said, eye smiling, barely, towards the genin and their charge. Tazuna, being the least useful, picked him up and said "We should get to my house before we run into more trouble."

* * *

**Elsewhere**

"You should rest Zabuza-sama, that is quite the fight you had." Said a girl of about 15, standing before the mighty demon of the hidden mist, who was in his bed.

"For now Haku, but I think I figured out the Sharingan…the next fight will end totally differently." He said, for soon he would have his revenge.

* * *

A few hours later team seven arrived in a poverty stricken village.

"Welcome to the land of waves." Said the bridge builder, seeing their concerned stares. Of the group, only Naruto ever even had to think of poverty on that level.

"T-tazuna-san, why is the village in such bad condition?" Hinata asked.

"Well that is quite a story. This village used to be a very rich place. But when Gato decided to move in and take over, he started to steal everything from the village, either by large scale taxing or direct assaults on the public. This is exactly why we had to come to Konoha for help, the bridge is our only chance to get out from under his iron fist." Tazuna answered, looking glumly at the ground.

"Well in that case, we'll just have to make sure he can't hurt you anymore!" Naruto said, flashing his trademark grin.

"Hehe…I guess so." Tazuna replied "Well here we are! Home sweet home!" he said, leading them to a small two story house. Standing in the doorway was a middle aged woman with long blue hair and a young boy in the upstairs window, glaring hatefully at the ninja.

"Father you're back!" she said, rushing to hug him. "But…they sent three kids to guard you?" she asked quizzically.

"No, their sensei over did himself in a fight." He said, gesturing to the man on his back.

"Oh dear, well let's get him inside." She said, ushering them into the house. As soon as she got Kakashi settled he called a team meeting.

"Ok… tomorrow we're going to do some chakra control training. It's probably all I could show you right now anyway." Kakashi said, barely half awake. "So go get some sleep, and don't try anything funny Naruto." He said, shooting a glance to Hinata who, catching his meeting, turned a new shade of red and fainted on the spot. Kakashi called in Tsunami to carry her to her room before calling Naruto back for a smaller meeting.

"Alright Naruto…where did you learn the Kage Bushin no Jutsu?" he asked.

"Well it happened like this." Naruto started

* * *

_Flashback_

_ A young Naruto of nine was wandering around the village, thinking of ways to learn the bushin no jutsu, a technique that he just couldn't grasp. Suddenly two figured appeared in the alleyway. Naruto jumped behind a dumpster to avoid being seen while still being able to hear their conversation._

_ "Yea… I just don't have enough chakra to make more than three shadow clones!" one of the chunin said. "It's freaking useless!" he then continued to throw a small scroll into the dumpster that the young blond was behind before he and his companion kept walking and murmuring._

_ Naruto snuck into the dumpster and recovered the scroll before heading home. 'This doesn't look too hard to do! But that's what I thought about the clone jutsu. Oh well I'll just have to try as hard as I possibly can!' he thought to himself before heading back to his apartment. He then spent the rest of the night summoning clone after clone and having them spar, gaining not only a powerful new jutsu, but also a huge step forward in his taijutsu style. He was soon able to create hundreds of clones in a single day. _

_ Flashback end_

* * *

"Ok. Do you happen to know who you got the scroll from?" Kakashi asked.

"No Kakashi-sensei, I didn't get a look at their faces." Naruto answered.

"Alright." He replied, worried there might be copies of other forbidden jutsu in the village "Go get some sleep, you have to train tomorrow too ya know."

Naruto went to the room he shared with Sasuke to find the raven haired genin already asleep. He took his place on a futon and was promptly taken over by his drowsiness, falling into his own little dream world.

* * *

The next morning the three genin ate breakfast with Tazunas family, minus the mystery little boy. In the middle of the quite meal the door to the hall flew open and said boy stormed in and sat at the table, huffing.

"Why are you doing this? You'll just be getting yourself killed!" the boy cried.

"We can take care of ourselves!" Naruto said, probably rougher than it should have been.

"You have no clue what to do! You three must have been pampered and protected your entire lives! You don't have any idea what we've been through!" he screamed. Sasuke and Hinata looked sadly at the table, knowing he was right about them being protected, but Naruto stood up and stormed out the door, slamming it shut as he walked out.

"What's his problem." The younger boy asked.

"There are some things you should probably have known about Naruto" Kakashi said from the doorway to the stairs, barely able to stand.

* * *

An hour later the team was gathered outside the village in a clearing.

"Alright. Today you will learn how to climb trees without your hands." Kakashi explained.

"Umm…sensei? How do you do that?" Hinata asked.

"Simple, you focus chakra into your feet and continue to focus it there until you climb all the way up. The trick is that if you put too much, you'll fly off the tree and if you don't use enough you won't stick." Kakashi explained. "Im going to rest. Naruto, since you know how to do this you help them if they need it. Sasuke, Hinata, you guys practice."

* * *

The next few hours went by with little problem. Sasuke had caught on quickly and got it down. Hinata though was having more trouble.

She was nervous about failing in front of Naruto. She could practically feel the disappointment rolling off of him. Suddenly, as she once again slid down the tree, she fell too her knees and burst into tears.

"Ummmm, Hinata-chan? Whats wrong?" Naruto said, cautiously approaching the sobbing girl.

"I-I-I'm s-sorry Naruto-kun. I-I-I'm just to m-m-much of a f-f-f-f-failure." She said softly, still sobbing heavily.

Naruto knelt down beside her and wrapped the sobbing girl in his arms. "No you're not Hinata-chan. You just need more practice." He said softly as she cried into his chest.

She was surprised that he hadn't also called her a failure and worthless like her father, sister and cousin all had.

He was surprised to be feeling something for the girl that he had never felt before.

**Chapter End**

**A/N:**

**The results of the poll where for Ino, Tenten and Fu to be added to the harem. So the readers have spoken!**

**Next week is my spring break! And since I have quite a little life, I may be able to release multiple chapters.**

**Till then!**


	6. Chapter 6: Return of the Demon

**Chapter 5**

Team sevens training went on the same way for a few days. Though since the first night of training Hinata and Naruto seemed to talk less, both seemingly embarrassed about what had happened. Naruto could barely look at the girl without blushing. While he himself didn't know the reason for it, Kakashi knew all too well what it meant. And of course seeing Naruto blush, Hinata blushed even brighter than before.

_Ah…young love… _Kakashi thought to himself in the small mental breaks he had from worrying about what to do about Zabuza and the fake hunter ninja. He knew that they would be back, and he also knew it would be very soon since the bridge was close to completion.

Team seven had improved in leaps since the fight with Zabuza. Sasuke had obviously opened up to the rest of the team, Naruto was more focused than he had been, and Hinata was becoming more confident, thanks in part to said blonde. The young blond genin was also working hard to figure out new jutsu for his Shakuton and Sasuke was trying to find a way to awaken the Sharingan.

"Alright that's enough for today!" Kakashi said after about two hours of intense training. He wanted his team to be as ready as possible for the imminent encounter. While he wasn't too worried about his ability to face Zabuza alone, he knew nothing of the hunter in disguise's ability, and in the ninja world lacking such knowledge could be, and a lot of the time was, fatal.

"But we still have some time Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted.

"Oh well, I said it's time to go." Kakashi replied in a tone that left no room for argument.

As the team proceeded on the road back to the village they all had an overwhelming feeling that something was very wrong. All four of them seemed to be on edge, rushing along till they got to the house.

The front door of the house was wide open with the door frame broken. Someone had obviously broken in. But for what?

The genin looked around the house for any sign of trouble. Eventually Naruto got to the room that he, Sasuke and Kakashi had been sharing. When he opened the door he noticed Tazuna and Inari tied up in a corner. Hurriedly, he untied them. As soon as he did he was hit with an almost incoherent babble from Tazuna and what sounded like a frightened squeal from Inari. A moment later Kakashi burst into the room, closely followed by Hinata and Sasuke.

"Alright alright calm down." Kakashi said, "What happened here?"

"They took her!" Tazuna yelped.

"Who took who?" Kakashi questioned.

"Gatos men, they took Tsunami." He answered.

Hearing this, Inari promptly broke into tears.

"Alright team, we're going to head out and try to find Tsunami." Kakashi said, turning to his team and handing them each a headset. "Stay in the village and if you find anyone, do not engage until we're all there."

"Hai!" rang the three genin before disappearing into the morning mist that had settled over the poor little village.

(**With Sasuke.)**

Sasuke uneasily slunk through the narrow alleyways of the village. He had been searching for a half hour already with no leads. _This is useless!_ He thought to himself. Suddenly he heard a commotion in one of the neighboring shops. He decided to investigate when three armed thugs appeared in the doorway carrying a large sack. Before the Uchiha could do anything the bandits were on the move.

"_Well, may as well follow them"_ He thought.

**(With Kakashi)**

Kakashi went on his investigation with a slight bit more reproach. He immediately went to check the outskirts of the village. He searched the perimeter closest to Tazunas home first and it didn't take the one eyed jonin long to discover a set of tracks leading into the forest. He followed them deeper into the surrounding woods when he came upon a small bunker like building that obviously led underground.

"_Well, I guess I should wait for the team."_ He thought.

Little did he know that he and his team were about to enter their most life threatening fight yet when he saw a group with a tied up sack (Not the same as Sasukes group.) over one of the men's shoulders slowly entered the building.

He could have sworn he heard one say "She's worth more undamaged."

(**With Naruto)**

Naruto had the easiest time with his search as he had just created 50 clones and had them spread out. They quickly found and tailed a lone figure into the dense woodland of the islands. As he went he found his mind wondering to the others in his team, or more specifically one indigo haired Kunoichi. The thought of what he had felt the few days since their training still greatly confused him, and he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Did he like her? Love her? Could she possibly like him too? All sorts of questions were spinning in his head as one of his shadow clones dispersed and he was shown the location of the bandits' small bunker and he broke away from the lone man who actually just turned out being a perverted peeper. While in truth he never thought he could even use the Kage Bushin no Jutsu, but it had proven an extremely useful jutsu as he remembered how he learned it.

_Thank kami for idiot shinobi._

He quickly began to make his way there as he noticed Sasuke also moving into the forest. While both the genin knew that they were headed straight to the bunker, but neither they nor their sensei understood the situation.

And none of them had heard from Hinata in a while.

(**With Hinata)**

In a small, dark cell a young leaf kunoichi awoke feeling dazed and confused.

_W-w-where am I? _She thought, slightly panicked when the memory of what had happened came back to her.

_**Flashback**_

_ Hinata had quickly and quietly found the bunker and was setting up a vantage point to see if she could make anything out about the possible defenses of their opponents' lair. Suddenly she heard a small, but unmistakable stirring in the underbrush behind her. She quickly activated her Byakugan to check, but found nothing._

_ Moments later she heard it again, and again the results of her bloodline trait were inconclusive. It happened several more times before she actually started to get seriously nervous._

_Suddenly she felt a muscular arm wrap around her neck and a cloth getting placed over her mouth and nose. All she remembered from then on was blackness._

_**Flashback End.**_

_ I-I-I-I h-have to g-g-get out o-of h-h-here. _She thought in a state of absolute terror. She knew full well the risk that female shinobi faced that their male counterparts did not have to deal with. And it was a fear that all kunoichi shared. A fear that she may have been forced to face.

(**With Kakashi and company.) **

The three remaining members of team seven had gathered in the tree line waiting for their final teammate to shown, her current situation unknown to the three.

"This is taking too long." Kakashi said with authority. "We have to go in without her."

"Agreed, we can't wait any longer" Sasuke replied.

"But she's our teammate, we can't just go in without her" Naruto stated.

"We have to Naruto, Tsunami's life may be in danger." The elite jonin replied to the brash genin. After seeing Naruto reluctantly nod, Kakashi continued "Okay here's the plan"

(**With Hinata)**

As she struggled to get free from the bindings, the Hyuuga heiress was getting more and more panicky. She had to quietly stop to avoid an argument between the guards.

"I still don't understand why boss wouldn't let us at those two that her brought in today." One of them grumbled.

"Well idiot, one is an important ransom and the other with fetch a better price unharmed." The other shot back, completely unaware that their prisoner had swiped the key when they went pass the cell.

Hinata then unlocked the door and was about to take off down the opposite direction when she heard a small sob coming from one of the cells. Not being one to leave someone in trouble, Hinata went to find the source of the noise.

Inside one of the cells was a group of five people who ranged in ages from a seven year old girl, to a sixty something year old man. Hinata also noticed that Tsunami was among the group.

"Um…O.K? Follow m-me." She stuttered to the group, who were more than ready to comply. As she lead the group towards what she could only guess was the exit, she started to feel as though she was being watched.

**(Team 7)**

Team seven was moving along with their plan to search the hideout. Narutos' clones were in the lead to disable any traps while the real Naruto and Sasuke moved behind them and Kakashi brought up the back to act like the rear guard. Things were going smoothly until they entered what seemed like an underground dojo.

"How could they keep somewhere like this a secret?" Naruto wondered aloud.

"Simple…Kill anyone that dared to show their face around here." Said a disturbingly familiar, gruff voice. Out of the shadows of the training area stepped Zabuza Momochi and a shorter ninja wearing a fake hunter Nin mask.

"I was planning on taking you out tomorrow, but it looks like you saved me the trouble." He continued. "Haku, take the brats."

"With pleasure Zabuza-sama." The masked Nin, now shown to be female said.

"Hnph, easy." Sasuke smirked as he charged into the fight only to be batted away by the older combatant. When Naruto tried to enter the fray though, he said, "Stay out of this dobe, she's mine."

Not wanting to cause internal struggle, Naruto stayed on the sideline to watch as the young Uchiha was swatted away time and again. The fight quickly turned brutal as Haku decided to go on the offensive and skewered Sasuke with repeated ice needles. Half way through the fight Sasuke activated his Sharingan for the first time and, though incomplete, he was able to keep up with the speedy ice ninja slightly better than he had been able to before. It was still a one sided battle as Haku quickly grew bored with the battle and began to release a flurry of taijutsu sequences on the younger Uchiha.

Meanwhile on the other side of the dojo Kakashi was doing his best to keep up with Zabuza, and the two famed ninja had drawn the fight to a standstill. Kakashi had yet to reveal his Sharingan as he didn't want to be rendered useless. The two were engaged in a fierce sword vs. kunai fight as the two battled at a pace that Naruto couldn't follow and all he saw were after images and sparks from the weapons.

"What do you plan on gaining from this?" Kakashi asked in a brief moment of reprieve.

"Money…It's all that matters." Zabuza replied before he launched another offensive against the copy ninja, but the demon of the hidden mist was still unable to overpower him. The two then broke apart again with the demon man forming and seals.

"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!" Zabuza called as a giant dragon of water rose from a small, manmade pool and flew at Kakashi, who easily dodged and suddenly bit his thumb.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu" He said as he slammed his hand into the ground. Suddenly several ninja dogs burst forward and attached themselves onto Zabuza and rendered him unable to move. Suddenly lightning burst from Kakashis had. As he calmly approached the incapacitated ex kiri nin he whispered. "Are you ready to die demon of the mist?"

Zabuza looked on with a neutral gaze, but felt one thing he hadn't in a long time…fear. Darting his eyes around he saw a familiar figure move out from the shadows and knew it was his last chance.

(**Hinata)**

Hinata made her way through the seemingly deserted halls of the surprisingly large bunker. Behind her were the five villagers that were kidnapped, one of which was Tsunami, following closely to the young kunoichi, silently praying she found the way out. Suddenly they found themselves outside what appeared as a large dojo. Silently she opened the door and was shocked to see her team engaged with Zabuza and his helper. The bandits that had brought her there were nowhere to be found and she could only guess that the demon of the hidden mist had sent them away so they wouldn't get caught in the cross fire.

She stood in the doorway, unsure what to do when she was suddenly locked in a stare down with the demon himself. And she noticed under his mask that he now bore a cruel smirk.

(**Naruto)**

Sasuke quickly found that he was no match for the stronger, faster kunoichi even though he had even unlocked his coveted bloodline and Naruto was force to step in for his downed teammate. They were locked in a fierce taijutsu match. They suddenly stopped and looked around when they heard what sounded like birds chirping. They looked over and noticed that Kakashi had his mist counterpart in a very bad situation. Naruto then saw Zabuzas eyes lock onto something in the darkness and saw a small figure in the darkness.

Suddenly Zabuza heaved his massive sword and dispelled all the ninken in a single strike and proceeded to knock Kakashi unconscious with a chop to the neck. He then flew towards the darkness and engaged the small figure.

Zabuza was intent on gaining some leverage and by capturing the young kunoichi he knew he could do just that. The young girl fought surprisingly hard but it just wasn't enough for her to overcome the much more experienced ninja as he quickly over powered her.

Naruto and Haku were frozen in place watching the fight. Both knew that Hinata could not stand a chance but were shocked at how fiercely she fought back. Suddenly Zabuza made surprise move and got through her guard. Both the remaining onlookers just thought it was a normal hit, but when she fell backwards clutching her chest Naruto knew something was very wrong.

Looking more closely he saw a kunai, buried to the hilt in her chest. Naruto stood completely stunned and something inside him snapped. Suddenly a deep crimson cloak began to form around him and his canine teeth and finger nailed elongated and sharpened to inhuman lengths. His hair became wilder and his normally calm, sky blue eyes had turned a deep feral red with a slit for the pupil. Haku could only look on in fright when suddenly the animal like Naruto grabbed her by the face and channeled Shakuton chakra into his and drained all the liquid from her body, causing her to look like a shriveled up corpse that had been dead for years. He then turned on Zabuza who was still standing over the bleeding, but still conscious Hinata.

The chakra cloak then formed a single tail which wrapped itself around Hinata as he neared.

"You think im just going to let you grab me?" Zabuza said defiantly, but he was unable to keep a small trace of fear from his voice.

"**I don't need to" **Naruto said in a deep, demonic voice. The chakra tail then completely wrapped itself around Hinata and Naruto began to spin. Suddenly a bright flash of Shakuton chakra enveloped him and span like a hurricane with violent force. Zabuza attempted to use his sword to deflect the shot, but the sword unexpectedly shattered. Zabuza didn't even have time to scream as the violent firestorm hit, and was burned to an ash.

Naruto slowed his spin and came to a stop and immediately looked down to check on the still conscious kunoichi. As his chakra cloak receded he knelt down to check on her and rested her head in his arms. The two sat in silence until the girl broke the silence.

"I-I-I'm sorry." She said, in a tone that was barely audible.

"For what?" Naruto said softly.

"For being too w-w-weak." She said with tears threatening to spill from her lavender colored eyes.

"Nonsense." Naruto said quietly while staring her directly in the eyes.

Naruto then felt an unfamiliar pull. He was unsure as to what it was and was apprehensive to find out. But as the two stared at each other the pull grew stronger and Naruto soon gave in. Slowly leaning down he placed a light kiss on the lips of the girl in his arms. Hinatas face went from a brief expression of shock, to a light smile as he pulled back. Suddenly the light smile she had evolved into a full one and the young woman fainted, but not without a strong blush. Naruto smiled just as brightly as he also passed out, though from charka exhaustion and not pure bliss.

Little did either know that Kakashi had awoke and witnessed the entire thing.

(The Next day)

Naruto awoke on a futon in Tazunas house he lay unable to move for about fifteen minutes until Kakashi walked in to check on him.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said, almost too cheerfully for a person who had just killed for his first time the day before.

"Hey Naruto." Kakashi replied with an eye smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Stiff." Naruto replied gruffly.

"That's normal for the level of chakra exhaustion that you suffered."

"Hey Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes Naruto?"

"H-how is Hinata?"

"She's fine, the kunai missed anything vital. She will be fine." Kakashi replied before looking Naruto in the eye with a mischievous look and said "I guess you're wondering because of what happened yesterday, aren't you?"

"Wh-what do you mean?" Naruto replied with a slight blush.

"I was awake at the end." Kakashi replied with another eye smile. The older male then stood and prepared to leave the room.

"And Naruto, when you can move. You may want to go have a little talk with a certain kunoichi."

Hinata had just awoken from her state and was staring at the roof. She remembered everything that had happened vividly and prayed that it wasn't another cruel dream. Suddenly a slight knock was heard at her door.

"C-Come in." she said, just loud enough for whoever was outside to hear. Naruto then walked into the room and sat down in a chair and an awkward silence enveloped the two. Hinata was the first, once again, to break it.

"A-ano Naruto-kun."

"Yea Hinata-chan?"

"Why did you k-k-kiss me yesterday?"

"I-Im sorry, I shouldn't of." Naruto stammered.

"No N-N-Naruto-kun…I l-liked it. I-I was just w-w-wondering w-why?"

"Because…um…well…I…" Naruto slowly stammered as he searched for the truthful answer. His feelings suddenly hit him in the face and he knew his answer. Naruto looked into her eyes and whispered "Because I love you Hinata-chan"

It suddenly felt like Hinatas world exploded in happiness and she couldn't stop some tears from flowing down her face. The next thing Naruto knew the indigo haired girl was buried into his jacket whispering "I love you too Naruto-kun."

Naruto gently grabbed her chin and lifted her face to meet his. Fireworks seemed to go off when their lips met in their first kiss. Though it only lasted about ten seconds and was extremely innocent, it felt like it lasted an eternity to the two of them. Naruto broke away and said with a smile "So…does this mean you're my girlfriend?"

Hinata blushed again and said in just as upbeat a tone as his "Of course Naruto-kun"

The next day the bridge was completed and team seven was set to head home. They said their goodbyes and got a final thanks from Tazunas family before they set of back to Konoha, with Naruto and Hinata hand in hand the entire time.

**Authors Note: **

**Woah. This is my first chapter to top 3000 words.**

**Sorry it took so long, I got sick over spring break (Bummer) and stuff came up regarding finals at school, and unfortunately that comes first.**

**Anyway I would like to thank ConnivingFox for his help with coming up with new jutsu, im not extremely creative.**


	7. Chapter 7: The First Date

**Disclaimer: Haven't done one of these yet so…yea I don't own Naruto or anything else I may make a reference to. **

**Chapter 6**

It had been three weeks since Team 7 returned from the land of waves and their training was going more smoothly than normal. Hinata had grown much more confident while she was with Naruto, even though the two of them had yet to have a real "date". She was still afraid of what her father, the head of the Hyuuga clan, would say when he found out. He had never been the most understanding or caring man.

Sasuke had also opened up more to his teammates and was beginning to form a true friendship with his two counterparts. He was by no means an open person, but he was coming around. He had also begun to train with the other two, something the 'elite Uchiha' would not have even dreamed of previously.

Naruto had already come farther than the others combined. He was easily the strongest of the rookie nine thanks to his new training.

(_Flashback)_

_ Naruto was by himself training the day after his team had gotten home. He had resolved to become stronger to protect his new 'family'. Naruto was trying to come up with new jutsu for his Shakuton because he only knew two currently, one of which he couldn't use often._

_ (Flashback….uh in a Flashback?)_

_ Kakashi stopped Naruto on their way home from the mission. _

_ "Naruto, about that jutsu you used back there." Kakashi said._

_ "Yea, what about it Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto replied._

_ "Im naming that a class S Kinjutsu, you are not to use it except in dire situations."_

_ "What! Why!" Naruto exclaimed._

_ "That jutsu used an extreme amount of your chakra and, considering just how much you have, that is really saying something. Something like that would kill most people and it would leave anyone else completely drained. It also caused a lot of stress on your arms and legs which ripped some of the ligaments in your shoulders and knees. You're lucky it didn't cause any lasting harm."_

_ "Oh, okay. When you put it that way it makes more sense. Anyway, this just means I'll have to come up with more!"_

_ (End the flashback flashback!)_

_Try as he may, Naruto just couldn't create anymore jutsu and he was getting extremely frustrated. Naruto closed his eyes and suddenly found himself in an unpleasantly familiar surrounding._

_ (Narutos flashback-mindscape)_

_ "__**Hello there kit." The massive demon fox said, barely even being bothered to open its eye to look at the young blonde.**_

_"What do you want you stupid, baka fox?" Naruto asked._

_ "__**I noticed that you were having trouble with the Shakuton." The fox rumbled while rolling onto its back, looking surprisingly like a common house dog. Even though he was one big house dog. "And I think I have a compromise that will benefit us both."**_

_"Ok…What do you want." Naruto replied._

_ "__**I will teach you how to use your techniques, if you let me out of this cage." The fox said back.**_

_"Forget it! I won't let you out of the seal." Naruto yelled at the giant, demon fox._

_**"I didn't say that." The fox said in a bored tone. He then released a small sigh of annoyance which felt like a small hurricane to the blonde genin. "If you were to remove the seal now it would kill us both, just change your mindscape into something more comfortable, like a forest."**_

_"Okay, how do I do that." Naruto asked._

_**"It is your mind, just imagine a different landscape for me and it will change to match your mental image." The great kitsune responded. "Oh and change the gate seal to a collar or something."**_

_"Alright." Naruto stated as he closed his eyes and began to concentrate on the new area. Suddenly the cage morphed into a large, dense forest with a clearing where they were standing and the gate changed into a large red collar that almost matched the color of the kyubis fur. The collar then proceeded to latch itself around the large kitsunes neck._

_**"Alright, now come here and we will begin your training." **_

_(Flashback end.)_

Naruto spent four nights a week in his mind learning new techniques and would spend the days training in them. He was currently working on a way to enhance his taijutsu using a Shakuton technique. He called his new jutsu Shakuton: Baninguken (Burning fist). His progress was slow so far, but he already learned two fire and two wind jutsu that kyubi had insisted he learned before they started. Right then he could only cause small burns on the training dummies. But his fox mentor had assured him that he would eventually be able to burn completely through one with a single hit. He was also preparing to look into kenjutsu training as soon as he got his sword.

_(Flashback!)_

_ "Hey Kakashi-sensei." Naruto asked._

_ "Oi?"_

_ "Do you know where I can get a sword?"_

_ "Why the sudden interest?" Kakashi questioned._

_ "Well…no reason really." He said, when in truth he was too embarrassed to admit he got the idea from watching Zabuza fight._

_ "Well there is the Musashi weapon shop. I've heard that they are the premier weapon shop in Konoha." Kakashi replied. "But you will have to find someone else to teach you, I never got into kenjutsu."_

_ 'Already got that covered.' Naruto thought to himself._

_ "Hai!" Naruto responded, excited about getting a new weapon. _

_ (Flashback end.) _

Naruto ended up choosing a thin double edged sword with a slim guard, and an Uzumaki symbol on the pommel. The hilt was a (You probably guessed it) bright orange. The blade was 29 ½ inches long with a bright orange sheath to match the hilt. The girl who was working the store called it a Tai Chi sword. He recognized the girl from the team that Hinatas cousin Neji was on, Tenten Musashi (I don't think she actually has a last name, so I gave her one.). Naruto luckily had enough money to pay for it from the mission to wave to pay for it. The sword did cost more than expected as he had it made with extremely dense chakra metal. The owner and smith of the shop said it should be done in a few days.

"Alright team, that's enough for today." Kakashi said, "And I have an important jonin council meeting tomorrow sow you can have the day off."

"Hai sensei!" team seven shouted as they prepared to leave.

Naruto and Hinata intertwined their hands as they left training ground 7 and Naruto leaned over to Hinata and whispered "Hey…uh since we got the day off tomorrow…you want to go out to dinner or something?"

Hinata went wide eyed at the thought. They had been out to lunch together several times but never without someone else from the team. "T-t-that would be nice N-N-Naruto-k-kun." She said with a blush.

"Ok…uh I'll pick you up at 8 tomorrow?" Naruto asked.

"I'll see you t-then n-n-Naruto-kun." Hinata replied looking at the ground.

**The next day**

Kakashi was, as always, almost three hours late to the jonin meeting. He had been at the memorial stone pondering if he should sign his team up for the upcoming chunin exams. They had come a long way but he wasn't sure if it was far enough.

Kakashi walked into the meeting room to the exact situation he was expecting. Kurenai Yuhi was glaring at him, Maito Gai was babbling on about youth to a bored looking rookie jonin and Asuma Sarutobi was staring at the ceiling smoking his cigarette. The only thing he didn't expect to see was the Hokages annoyed expression.

"About time Hatake." Kurenai huffed.

"Sorry…I got lost on the path of life." Kakashi replied.

"Most un-youthful my eternal rival!" Gai screamed while Asuma blew a smoke ring.

"Yea yea…youth." Kakashi mumbled.

"If you three are done we have some issues to discuss." Hiruzen said. "Well as you know the chunin exams were supposed to be held next week, but due to a political issue between Iwa, Kumo and Kiri they have been postponed. Because of this all genin squads will be put on active duty to be able to take missions starting in five days. I will be sure to inform you when the exams will begin. You are all dismissed except you Kakashi, we have something we must discuss."

All the jonin except Kakashi proceeded to leave the room as the elder man turned to the Cyclops jonin. "Alright Kakashi, we have recently received an A ranked mission to Takigakure and we need your team to take it."

"But Hokage-sama." Kakashi replied, "Do you really think they're ready?"

"No…But you are the only genin team that can possibly handle this mission as all the chunin and jonin squads are currently out on mission. Also im sending one of my students along with you. He is the one who delivered the mission request." The elder Sarutobi said.

"Hai Hokage-sama. But if I may, who are you sending with us?" Kakashi replied.

The old fire shadow looked at Kakashi like he was stupid before he replied with "One of my students is a traitor and the other is a hopeless drunk. Who do you think is going?"

"Oh…yea so it is him…"

(With Hinata)

Hinata was going through her closet looking for something to wear on her date. She didn't know where they were going but she wanted to look nicer than normal no matter what. She then realized she didn't have anything other than some Hyuuga robes and her ninja outfit. She decided to go see her closest friend for help.

About thirty minutes later the young Hyuuga heiress stood at the front door of the villages' genjutsu mistress Kurenai Yuhi. Kurenai was the only person who Hinata had every truly confided everything in, from how she felt after her mother died to her crush on a certain blonde dead last.

Finally working up the courage, Hinata knocked on the door. She waited a few minutes without answer and then, downcast, turned to leave when she found herself face to chest with the person she was looking for.

"Hinata? What are you doing here?" the older woman asked.

"I-I-I was wondering if you could help me find something to wear t-t-tonight." Hinata replied with her blush growing steadily the whole time.

"Why? Does little Hinata-chan have a date?" Kurenai teased.

"Y-y-y-yes." Hinata stuttered softly, unable to look the older woman in the eyes.

Kurenai was surprised that shy little Hinata was so forward in her answer. "Oh, who with?"

"N-n-naruto." The heiress responded, turning a shade of red that matched a stop sign.

'So he finally noticed' Kurenai thought to herself, "Of course I will help you find something! Come on!" she said as she led the shy teen back to town.

(Naruto)

Naruto was sitting in Ichiraku wondering where he should take Hinata for their date when Iruka joined him in the stand. He tried for several minutes to break Naruto out of his thoughts when he finally had to push the younger blonde out of his seat to get his attention.

"Oh hey Iruka-sensei." Naruto said with a frown.

"Why so down Naruto?" Iruka asked.

"Just thinking."

"About what?" Iruka asked.

"Tonight." Naruto replied.

"What's happening tonight?" Iruka questioned.

"Little Naruto-kun has a date." Kakashi said as he entered the ramen stand.

"H-h-how did you know?" Naruto stammered.

"I heard you, im not a jonin for nothing." Kakashi said as he pulled out his copy of the newest Icha Icha book.

"Oh. And why are you so worried Naruto? Iruka asked.

"Well I want to take her somewhere nice but I don't have very much money left." Naruto replied, obviously distraught at the subject.

"I can fix that." Kakashi said as he pulled out a wad of cash and handed it to Naruto.

"I c-can't take your m-m-money Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said.

"You're not, this is yours." Kakashi said.

Naruto was extremely confused. What had he done to earn that much money? Seeing Narutos confusion, Kakashi added "It is the bounty from Kiri for Zabuza."

"Oh…Ok." Naruto said taking the money. It was easily enough to buy a medium sized house and have most of the money left. "One more thing. I don't really have anything that I could wear to a fancier place."

"Well I can fix that one." Iruka said, "Come on we will find something."

(8 P.M.)

Naruto was dressed in a pair of black slacks and a white long sleeved buttoned up shirt. He also had on black shoes. He had just gotten to the Hyuuga estate and was waiting for his date outside the main gate. He had just began to get bored when he heard the gate open. When he looked up he almost fainted at the sight.

Hinata had gotten a lavender dress. It stopped just above the knees and hugged her well developing figure. She was also wearing a white jacket over the dress and a pair of white sandals.

"Hi H-hinata-c-chan…uh you look n-n-nice" Naruto stammered, trying desperately not to get a nosebleed.

"T-t-thank y-you n-naruto-k-kun" Hinata replied with her stutter returning in full force. "Y-y-you look handsome."

Naruto took Hinatas hand and led her down the road. They walked for a few minutes in silence until Hinata broke the silence. "A-ano Naruto-kun? Where are we going?"

"To Doragon no yobidashi…That is ok…right?" Naruto anwered.

'That's one of the most expensive restaurants in the village.' Hinata thought. "H-Hai Naruto-kun."

When they arrived at the restaurant Hinata noticed some of the more well off villagers glaring at Naruto. They were wondering what the village demon was doing with the Hyuuga heiress. She also noticed how Naruto ignored the glares. Seeing him ignore them she ultimately decided to ignore them as well.

"Hello." Naruto said to the waiter at the front desk. "We have a reservation under Hyuuga."

"Yes. Of course. Right this way." The waiter said, mad that he had been tricked like that.

"Sorry I had to use your name." Naruto whispered to Hinata. "I normally wouldn't be allowed in this sort of place."

"T-t-that's fine Naruto-kun"

They sat down and ordered their food. No one dared to mess with them since the heiress of the most prestigious clan in the village was there. They spent the rest of the night talking about themselves, missions, their past, and other things that couples usually talk to each other about.

The two teens lost track of time and when they checked it was 10:30.

"S-s-sorry Naruto-kun, I have to get home now or father will be angry."

"That's okay Hinata-chan. Let's go."

Naruto paid for the meal and the two left the restaurant hand in hand. They soon arrived at the Hyuuga compound.

"I had fun tonight Hinata-chan." Naruto whispered.

"M-me to N-N-Naruto-kun." Hinata said.

Naruto then pulled out a small rectangular box and handed it to Hinata. The shy Hyuuga opened the box and pulled out a pure silver necklace with a small locket in the middle.

"I-I-it's beautiful Naruto-kun" Hinata whispered. They stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds until Naruto leaned forward and kissed the heiress. They remained in the kiss for about ten seconds before they were broken up by an obviously angry voice.

"Hinata!" the voice exclaimed and the two looked up to find the head of the Hyuuga clan, Hiashi Hyuuga, glaring at them.

The two had one of their shared thoughts.

'Ah crap.'

**AUTHORS NOTE:**

** So my summer break has begun! 3 months of no school work which hopefully means more writing! I am also currently working on the first chapter of another story which I hope you all will come read.**

** Also, sorry about this mostly filler/fluff chapter, I need to figure out how to advance to the next arc.**

** So…yea! Till next time!**


	8. Chapter 8:The Bet Of A Lifetime

**Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Musashi Kishimoto**

** Chapter 7:**

"Hinata!"

'_Ah crap'_

"Hinata…what is the meaning of this?" Hiashi asked in a deathly quiet, making Naruto naturally afraid of his girlfriend's father.

"Otou-san!" Hinata exclaimed, looking down.

"Uh… um… what… who…" Naruto stuttered.

"Go home Hinata. Wait in my office." The clan head said calmly while having an extremely awkward, one sided stare down with Naruto. Hinata walked into the Hyuuga compound nervously. Naruto began to wilt under the powerful stare of the Hyuuga clan leader. Naruto knew that Hinatas father was not a good person from what he had been told. As far as he knew, Hiashi was the one who ruined Hinatas confidence and self-esteem. Naruto was nervous that he had made the very weak father daughter relationship that they had even weaker.

What Naruto didn't know was what happened behind the scenes in the Hyuuga clan. About how Hiashi protected his daughter almost daily from the power hungry vultures he was forced to call his clans elder council, who were constantly trying to better their political standings by using the young heiress as a bargaining chip in anything from political marriages to slave trades.

He also didn't know of Hiashis past relationship with Narutos father. Hiashi and Minato had an almost brotherly relationship. No one was fully aware of how close they were except Hiashis real brother Hizashi.

So in truth Hiashi knew he could not have hoped that his eldest would find someone better, though he would not have told either of them, not yet. Instead he saw this as a test for their conviction to their relationship.

"So Uzumaki…" Hiashi began "What is the meaning of this?"

"W-w-w-well s-sir I-I-I w-w-wa-as, I-I-I m-m-m-mean w-w-w-we w-were j-j-just." Naruto stuttered uncontrollably.

"Out with it." Hiashi said sternly.

"I-I well we didn't do anything. Well we did do something but it didn't mean anything. Well it did mean something but it didn't mean what you thought it meant. I mean it may have meant what you thought it meant but that depends on what you thought it meant." Naruto wailed almost incomprehensibly.

Hiashi inwardly smirked at the young blondes misfortunes. Hiashi decided that he wanted to act on his newly found mean streak and kicked it up.

"So Naruto, what are your intentions with my daughter?" Hiashi asked.

"W-What?" Naruto stumbled with a blush that could almost rival the mans daughter.

"What are your intentions with Hinata?" Hiashi repeated.

"What do you mean?" Naruto questioned.

"As heiress of the Hyuuga, Hinata has no time for relationships that do not have a chance to go anywhere. So I will ask again, what are your intentions with her for the future." Hiashi continued.

"Well…I haven't really thought about it." Naruto stumbled.

"I see…" Hiashi said "Well It is late and I am sure you have somewhere to be."

"Y-Yes, well… could you say goodnight to Hinata for me?" Naruto asked.

"We will see." Hiashi said as he turned and walked into the compound.

Hinata sat in her father's study awkwardly. She never liked this place, all it ever held were memories of the constant times she failed to meet expectations or disappointed the clans' elders. She sat looking at the only picture in the study, a family portrait.

The picture was the only one of the whole main family. On the left stood her father, cold and stoic as ever. On the right stood her mother, Hitomi Hyuuga. In her arms was the new born Hanabi. Standing between the two adults, clinging to Hitomis' leg was the five year old Hinata.

That was the last time Hinata could remember that she was truly happy until very recently. The picture was take about two months before Hitomi fell ill and died. After that Hiashi grew cold and distant. Hanabi was raised to be what the elders considered a 'picture perfect Hyuuga'. She was arrogant and self-centered, never thinking of anyone else.

The stark difference between Hinata and Hanabi had also caused a rift in the clan. While the two sisters were in contest for the title of heiress, the clan split into sides supporting either one. The group supporting Hinata was larger, but was made up of the branch family, about a fourth of the main family and two elders. The group supporting Hanabi was much smaller, but being made up of the remaining six elders and three fourths of the main house meant that their positions held more power.

So in the end the contest between the sisters was in a proverbial deadlock. The only person who did not take a side in the battle for clan heiress was Hiashi himself. He had 'officially' stated it was because it was not his place to decide the battle, as in the end the stronger of the two would inherit the position.

Hinata was so off that she didn't even hear the door to the study open, nor did she even notice her father until she was in the seat behind his desk staring at her.

"So, daughter. Want to tell me what that was about?" Hiashi asked, amused at how his eldest practically leapt out of her chair when he spoke.

"W-w-w-well O-o-Otou-s-san, M-m-m-m-me a-and N-N-Naruto-k-kun are s-s-s-s-s-sort o-of…W-w-well." Hinata stuttered.

"Hinata…are you dating the Uzumaki?" Hiashi asked.

"H-H-Hai O-Otou-san." Hinata said, her voice barely registered above the normal timid whisper that she usually used.

_Hmm… let's see how far she is willing to go. _Hiashi thought. "Break it off with him."

"W-W-What?" Hinata stammered as her head shot up.

"No heiress of the Hyuuga is going to be dating a brat like that" Hiashi said, feeling slightly bad seeing the look on her face.

_I have to break up with Naruto-kun? _Hinata thought with tears in her eyes.

Suddenly Hinata heard it, the same small voice that had told her what to do in the past. The voice that had always given her strength when she was at her weakest,

_ Do not give him up._

Hinata set her face in a scowl and said the one thing that her smirking father didn't expect.

"No…"

"What did you say?" Hinatas father said, surprised.

"No…I won't break up with Naruto-kun."

_Looks like she has gotten more confident let's see if she is willing to go farther. _Hiashi thought.

"Okay daughter, then let us make a small bet." He said.

"W-W-What b-b-bet?" Hinata said, reverting from her confidence into her ever so normal stutter.

"I will allow you to continue to see the Uzumaki boy…" Hiashi began, and Hinatas face brightened, "If you can become a Chunin during the next Chunin Exam."

Hinatas face fell at the catch of the bet, but she couldn't stop herself from asking, "A-A-And if I-I-I f-f-fai-fail?"

Hiashi eyes narrowed a little at her question, and decided to give her confidence the greatest test it had ever had, "You will receive the caged bird seal and will be entered into a political marriage with the son of a very important person to fire country. The son of the daimyo to be exact."

Hinatas face had finally crashed and burned at the end of the deal, but she couldn't stop herself from giving in to her small confident voice and said "I A-a-accept."

"Very well then, you may go." Hiashi said. When Hinata left Hiashi did something that he had not done in years, he smiled a real smile. _My daughter is truly growing up. Now I can only hope that she wins this bet._

Little did Hiashi or Hinata know that they had an eavesdropper on their conversation. _Finally I have a chance to show that weakling her fate. All I have to do is take her out at the exams._ The boy thought as he turned to deliver what he had learned to the elders that favored Hanabi. _Soon she will know what it is like to be a caged bird._

**(The Next Day, Training Ground Seven)**

Naruto sat alone at his teams usual meeting spot. It was supposed to be his off day but he had received a letter carried by one of his sensei's Nin dogs telling him to meet there. The note said to meet in one hour, but he had already finished what he needed to do so he came early.

And so he sat, eyes closed, against a stump near the edge of the training ground. One looking on could mistake the genin for being asleep, but what he was doing was much more productive.

**(Mindscape)**

**"Again!" the nine tailed fox roared.**

"Im going as fast as I can Kurama-sensei." Naruto replied to the raging biju.

**"Well it is not fast enough! Again!"**

"Fine." Naruto said, "Shakuton: Sukōchisupia"

In Narutos hand formed a red hot form of a long spear. Naruto held it for a few seconds before it got to full power and thrust it through the tree in front of him.

**"How do you expect to ever use that when it is so slow?" The demon fox said from his position in the field. "Well, that's it for today. I sense your Lavender Vixen approaching."**

"Don't talk about Hinata-chan like that stupid Ero-Fox!" Naruto yelled at his demon.

"**Do not talk like that. When will you man up and take what's yours?**" **The fox said, obviously amused by Narutos growing blush.**

"Not till we're married." Naruto replied.

**"Pft… Marriage. A foolish human tradition." The great kitsune said off handedly.**

"That's what you do when you love someone." Naruto said.

**"No! That is what YOU do. MY kind just takes the vixen they want." The fox said.**

Naruto did not reply as he just focused on exiting his mind scape.

**(Exit Mindscape)**

Hinata had arrived fifteen minutes before Naruto awoke. She had sat down beside him and sat her head on his shoulder. She couldn't help but wonder if she had made a mistake in taking her father's bet.

She knew that it was very rare for a genin to be promoted on their first try in the chunin exams. The last genin of the village hidden in the leaves to do it had been Itachi Uchiha, and he was considered the best Uchiha genius the village had seen since Madara.

Her self-doubt was beginning to get the best of her when Naruto awoke. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice until he set a small, gentle kiss on her cheek, effectively startling her out of her self-worth induced stupor.

"Hey Hinata-hime." Naruto said.

"H-hello Naruto-kun." Hinata said.

The young couple sat in their innocent embrace for several minutes, Hinata deep in thought and Naruto just enjoying the moment.

"N-N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked looking into her boyfriend's cerulean eyes.

"Yea?" Naruto replied.

"Do you t-t-think we c-can pass the next c-chunin exam?" she asked nervously.

"Yea! Of course we can!" Naruto exclaimed before getting confused, "Why are you worrying about that?"

"Well I s-s-sort of m-m-made a b-bet with f-f-father." Hinata stammered.

"Really? What about?" Naruto asked.

"Well if I become a c-c-chunin during t-t-the next exams then m-m-my father will l-let u-u-u-us b-be t-t-together." She whispered.

"That's great!" Naruto said brightly.

"B-B-But i-if I-I-I d-don't, I-i-im b-being put i-i-in the b-b-branch f-f-family and p-p-put i-into a-a-a p-p-political m-marriage." She finished in an equally quiet tone.

Naruto took a second to process what she had said before saying in a 'this is to quiet who are you and what did you do with Naruto' tone "So, your whole future is being determined by this one test?"

"H-Hai." She said quietly before burying her face in his jacket and bawling, "W-what i-if i-I c-can't d-do i-i-i-it?"

"It's okay Hinata-chan, you can do it." He said, hugging her as close to him as he could possibly do.

"B-But what i-if im n-n-not s-s-strong e-enough?" she cried.

"Then you just have to train!" Naruto shouted, scaring his still crying girlfriend.

"W-What s-s-should I t-train in?" she asked looking up to him.

"Well…What are you good at?" Naruto asked causally.

_Nothing… _She thought, before saying "Ano…T-T-Taijutsu is my b-best… but im n-n-not v-v-very g-good at i-i-it either."

"Then you should train in some Ninjutsu, and maybe get a weapon." Naruto examined before turning her head back toward him with his hand and saying "And you are very good at your fighting style."

Hinata looked down and blushed before asking "What k-kind o-of w-w-weapon?"

"I don't know," Naruto said as he pondered her question. "Hey, I've got an idea, after today's training we can go to the Musashi weapon shop and look for one!"

"O-O-Okay N-N-Naruto-kun." Hinata said before leaning back on him, totally confident thanks to his mini pep talk. It was thirty more minutes before Sasuke showed up and another hour before Kakashi decided to show his face…well part of his face.

"Okay team! Today we will be working on ninjutsu. First, elements." Said the Cyclops to the children as he pulled out two pieces of small rectangular paper and handed one to Sasuke and one to Hinata. "Just channel a little chakra into the paper."

"Hey Kakashi-sensei, what about the dobe?" Sasuke asked.

"He already knows his, wind and fire." Kakashi said.

"H-H-How do you k-know?" Hinata asked, intrigued.

"Because of the Scorch Release, it requires a very specific combination of wind and fire affinities." Naruto answered.

"Right." The scarecrow said, "Now get to work."

Sasuke and Hinata channeled charka into the paper and got two very different results. Sasukes' crumpled at the corners and then sat on fire. Hinatas turned to dust at the corners and then the paper got extremely wet.

"Okay, Sasuke has a major fire affinity and a minor lightning, bot unexpected for an Uchiha, but Hinata, yours is a major water with minor earth, which is odd considering most Hyuuga have a majority earth." Kakashi observed, "Good thing I came prepared, and first I have one low level elemental jutsu for each of you."

Kakashi walked up to Sasuke and handed him a scroll with the kanji for fire and labeled 'Katon: Exploding Flame Shot, he then continued to Hinata with a scroll with the kanji for water, labeled 'Suiton: Wild Water Wave'.

Finally he approached Naruto with a scroll with the kanji for wind on it labeled 'Futon: Great Breakthrough'

He went to hand it to the blond when he pushed it away and said "Ne, Kakashi-sensei, I already know that one.

Kakashi scowled and put it back in his pack before pulling out another scroll labeled 'Futon: Gale Palm' and shoved it towards Naruto, just to have it pushed back, "I know that one to."

Kakashi openly glared at Naruto as he replaced the scroll and took out one more labeled "Futon: Blade of Wind' and handed it to Naruto, half expecting it to be pushed back into his hands, but Naruto took it and began to read.

Kakashi sighed as he wondered how Naruto had gotten so far ahead of the other two.

Four hours later team seven was ready to call it a day. Sasuke had been able to blow up trees and was working on rocks, Hinata could sweep away Naruto sized clones and was working on Kakashi sized, and Naruto was able to cut almost all the way through large boulders.

The four began to leave the training ground when Naruto remembered his prior commitment and ran over to Hinata.

"Hey, you ready to go?" he asked, linking his hand with hers. Hinata blushed and mumbled a "Hai.". Naruto didn't know why she still blushed and, occasionally, fainted after they were together for so long, but he had to admit to himself that he still found it cute.

The young couple walked through the village toward the weapon shop. On the way there they decided to stop by a small restaurant for dinner. After wards they made their way to the Musashi Weapon Shop in the business district. Upon entering they were promptly greeted with, "Welcome! If you need any help, just ask."

Naruto looked over to Hinata and asked "Hey, do you have any idea what you would want?"

"W-W-Well I was thinking, M-maybe a short sword would go with j-j-jyuken." Hinata said.

"Okay, do you see any you like?" Naruto said looking around.

"N-N-No n-n-not r-r-really." Hinata muttered.

"Maybe I can help with that." A voice said from behind them. They turned to see a girl about a year older than them walk up. She had brown hair, put up into two panda style buns on the side of her head and was wearing a pink blouse with red and yellow accents and blue shinobi style baggy pants.

"Hey Tenten! Yea you could defiantly help!" Naruto said in a voice that was almost a shout.

"Well let's see, by the way Naruto how are you doing with that tai-chi sword?" Tenten said as she led them to the short swords.

"Im getting better." Naruto shrugged.

Tenten looked back at him and smirked, "Do you think you could beat me?"

Naruto deadpanned and simply said "No…"

Tenten looked Hinata up and down as she inspected her body language for the right weapon type. The panda girl suddenly turned and walked into the back room, stayed a few minutes and returned with a medium sized box that she handed to Hinata.

Hinata slowly opened the box and looked in. On the inside was a pair of tantos. One was a brilliant bright blue with the other a bright red and both had a black cloth wrapped around the handle and a gold guard. The red had the kanji for honor and a small figure of a phoenix on the scabbard. The blue had the kanji for valor and a figure of a dragon.

"They're beautiful." Hinata said in a hushed tone. "I'll take them."

Tenten took the swords to the counter and opened the box once more to check the price.

"That will be 3000 ryo." The panda girl said.

Hinata went to grab her wallet when the money for the sword was placed on the counter. Hinata looked up to see Naruto smiling at her with his Gama wallet in hand.

"N-n-Naruto-kun? You d-d-didn't have to p-pay." Hinata said.

"No. But I wanted to." He replied.

Hinata smiled and took the swords and tied them onto her belt.

"Hey, come by tomorrow and I'll give you some lessons so you don't cut off your finger." Tenten offered.

Hinata just nodded and put her arm around Narutos waist. Naruto returned the gesture as the two walked out of the store.

**A/N **

**Another chapter done!**

**Well, this took a little while.**

**Anyway I have the first two chapters of my new story up on my page so it would be AWSOME if you guys could check it out.**

**As always, please review good or bad, but not for typos (That's just annoying.)**

**Next time! The Mission To The Waterfall!**


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